Health & Fitness

Lessons learned from the first 7 mile run of the season

Tim and I recently decided that we are going to run The Bix 7.  The Bix is an iconic 7 mile run that starts in downtown Davenport, shoots up Brady Street hill, winds through McClellan Heights, and then shoots back down Brady to finish by the QC Times Building.  We did the run last year for the first time.  We thought the race was too crowded (and people were not honest about where they seeded themselves, so we had to do a lot of dodging around slower runners) to do again.  But here it is a year later, and we have a hankering to do it again.

So far this year, my runs have been between 3 and 5 miles.  That’s my sweet spot – where I feel energized but not beat.  So we figured that we should do a full 7-mile training run to prepare for next Saturday (aka Race Day).  The run itself went really well.  Tim and I both finished strong.  However, as it’s been a year since I’ve ran that far, I forgot a few things:

1.  When you run sockless, you better put some baby powder or Gold Bond or something in your shoes.  Sweaty feet encased in sweaty shoes is no fun.

2.  When you are extremely sweaty, clothes rubbing against your skin is also no fun.   I didn’t realize it until I was done, by my tank top was chafing the tender skin on the bottom of my upper arm.  It’s amazing how stingy skin abrasions can be.  I bought a stick of Body Glide for use with the wet suit for the triathlon.  I’m going to have use that on race day.

The rest of my gear held up pretty well.  Evidently my running shorts are playing peekaboo with my cheeks though, so I’m going to have to get a new pair of running shorts before next Saturday.  I’ve been doing some research, and all the really highly rated ones are $50+, which is retarded.  I’m going to have to get a second job to fund my running habit.

Hope you have a great day!

Health & Fitness

Ugh, Why do they do that to themselves?!

Whenever I see a runner, toiling under the burden of transporting his carcass around on his two skinny, white legs, face red with exertion, sweat dripping off his chin, I wonder, “WHY is he doing that to himself?!”  Well, I kind of found the answer in this post on Runner’s World about why people run marathons.  This line, especially, I found interesting:

Therefore, the marathon is an event that requires a unique blend of physical, mental, and even spiritual training, which is very unusual in today’s world.

I have been getting the itch lately to start running outside again.  The weather is warming up, and it’s still fairly light when I get home.  Maybe if I started running after work, I could lay off the 4:30AM workouts a couple of mornings a week.  That would very, very nice.  Maybe one day, when I break the 2.5 mile mark, I’ll start working towards a marathon.

Here is picture of Tim and me after the Quad City Marathon 5K last year.  I felt like crap as I crossed the finish line, but I was A-OK 10 minutes afterwards.  We got some coffee from Red Band and some donuts from Donuts and More.  It was a beautiful morning.

Health & Fitness

Hurl Some Positive Vibes Next Time You See a Runner

I’m not crazy enough (yet) to run in the winter, or really in any weather that’s poorly.  I am continuously amazed by those dedicated/crazy souls who venture out when it’s 10 degrees below zero, windy and icy.  I wish them the best, as long as they make themselves visible enough that I don’t accidentally kill them with my car.

I ran across this blog post on Runners World about the things shouted at those crazy runners.  There are some pretty funny comments on the post – runners get lots of cat calls and whistles and lots of spit and expletives thrown their way (my tri-athlete friend gets cigarettes thrown at him when he runs – gotta love Muscatine), but they also get lots of encouragement hurled at them as well.  There is nothing more encouraging than a positive word from someone when you are pushing yourself to do something that feels horrible but is good for you!